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articles about politics, the economy, national security issues, and other matters of interestWed, 23 May 2018 22:31:58 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/811d4c59efbc04e0038f85621704bbf6?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngNaegeleBloghttps://naegeleblog.wordpress.com
What Atrocities Did Robert Mueller Commit In Vietnam?https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/06/what-atrocities-did-robert-mueller-commit-in-vietnam/
https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2018/05/06/what-atrocities-did-robert-mueller-commit-in-vietnam/#commentsSun, 06 May 2018 20:48:03 +0000http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/?p=6724 By Timothy D. Naegele[1][2]

America’s war in Vietnam was a tragedy of monumental proportions. More than 58,000 Americans died for nothing, including friends of mine. More than 300,000 were wounded, not including the “walking wounded,” many of whom live in the United States today. Both the human and financial costs remain unfathomable: more than 2 million Vietnamese died, and many more were wounded and/or tortured.[3]

The obvious American criminals were John F. Kennedy, who thrust us into that war[4]; his successor Lyndon Johnson who escalated it beyond belief; and the architect of that war in both presidential administrations, the despicable Robert McNamara. There is no question that crimes were covered up by our military; and murderers were hailed as heroes.

Robert Mueller served in the Vietnam War and has been hailed as a military hero, but is that really true? Did he kill even one Vietnamese—the son or daughter of someone—during the civil war in his or her own country? Hence, it is a fair question to ask what atrocities did Mueller commit, especially in light of the fact that his career afterward is strewn with criminal behavior and treason, by which he has hurt our great nation and the American people.[5]

There is a tragic pattern to his life; and by investigating his actions in the war, we may be able to determine what atrocities he committed against our allies today, the Vietnamese people. Mueller’s official military records have been “sanitized,” omitting any references to those whom he killed, when and where.[6] This is not surprising, given how other scandals were covered up during that bloody war and later.

Surely, there are Americans and Vietnamese who will come forward now and discuss openly and honestly who Mueller killed in Vietnam. Indeed, to tell the truth about Mueller’s victims—and not “sugar coat” any of it—is necessary and essential. The American and Vietnamese people have a right to know. Nothing less will suffice.

[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (seewww.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2] By way of full disclosure, as stated above (see infra n.1), the author served as a Captain in the U.S. Army’s Infantry during the Vietnam War (1967-1969). He was assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal.

[5] The supporting facts for this conclusion are vast; too vast to document here. However, it is useful to cite a summary provided by Congressman Louie Gohmert of Texas entitled “ROBERT MUELLER: UNMASKED,” which can be read by clicking on the following link:

A child is a sacred being, and God’s precious gift to the world.[2] Each is unique and blessed, with God’s imprimatur in his or her original fingerprints and DNA. The flip side of an abortion is adoption—hopefully by one or more loving adoptive parents. Rather than take a life, adoption provides a means by which that life continues and is nourished and often cherished by those persons who adopt.[3]

This has been true of a relative of mine and his wife, who desperately wanted to adopt because cancer treatments had prevented one from ever conceiving again.[4] Another relative was forced by her father to give up her baby, which had been born out of wedlock. A third relative—whom I love deeply—fell in love with someone who had been adopted at birth; and he seems never to have reconciled his quest for knowledge of his birth parents with the love provided by his adoptive parents . . . or by my relative.

The adoptee’s mother has sheltered the teenager from the hurt and chaos that his birth parents might bring to their family, which is understandable. In the process, however, the young man seems less than “whole,” and this has influenced his relationship with my wonderful and very loving relative. Al-Anon teaches loved ones and families of alcoholics and drug addicts that they cannot “fix” or change such behavior, and that they must take care of themselves first and foremost. This is sound and timeless advice, yet there must be a way to heal the “hole” in the young man’s heart and help him, so that he is healthy and truly happy in the years to come and for the rest of his life.

One woman who was adopted at birth has written:

I’ve spent my life having dreams about meeting [my biological parents] only to wake up and feel farther away from that dream. They live in a cloud, somewhere in my imagination, somewhere over the rainbow, they carry a sense of home that I have never known.

At times, I am convinced that I am looking at my biological mother in the face of a stranger on a subway, or in a restaurant, and when a pleasant person who resembles me smiles at me for no reason, the fantasies begin to do their dance. It is common, and it comes from a child’s imagination. The child in me who wants answers, and the adult who has questions.

. . .

Not knowing who your parents are is a strange life, though you adapt of course. You have other parents, other people you consider family. Love is stronger than blood for sure, but still, still, you can’t help wondering.[5]

Obviously, undergirding these issues, are often unfathomable mental health dimensions. As one mental health professional has written:

Children may feel grief over the loss of a relationship with their birthparents and the loss of the cultural and family connections that would have existed with those parents.

This feeling of loss may be especially intense in closed or semi-open adoptions where little or no information or contact is available with birthparents. Such grief feelings may be triggered at many different times throughout the child’s life including when they first learn of their adoption, during the turbulent teen years, upon the death of other family members, or even as when becoming a spouse or parent.

There can also be significant concerns about feeling abandoned and “abandonable,” and “not good enough,” coupled with specific hurt feelings over the birthmother’s choice to “reject[] the child” to “give me away” or “not wanting me enough.” Such hurtful and vulnerable feelings may be compounded should the child learn that the birthmother later had other children that she chose to raise herself.[6]

Perhaps the issues are summarized best by one adoptee who has written later in life that “we don’t belong anywhere in particular.”[7] Another stated: “I realized . . . that I had never really felt connected to anyone. Maybe because my heritage was missing. I didn’t know where I came from. No real sense of belonging to anyone.”[8] Yet, this woman added:

Thanks to the internet, I found ALL of my birth family. I now have a wonderful relationship with them. I have five half-siblings; uncles, aunts, and many cousins; and lots of family reunions. My sons have a new set of grandparents who have taken over loving them where Mom and Dad had to leave off. And I know where I got my nose, blonde hair, and love of dancing.

It’s amazing what hugging your birth family can do—it gives you a sense of connection.[9]

[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (seewww.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

Another woman who was adopted at birth, and is also an adoptive mother, has written:

People tend to be curious about their family of origin story, whether or not they are adopted. Look at the tremendous interest in Ancestry.com. That’s not all fueled by adoptees, I promise you. It’s natural to wonder how much of who we are is from our biology (nature) and how much is from our upbringing (nurture). That wondering applies to all of us; adoptees just know there is an additional layer to consider.

I’ve always been annoyed by the Hallmark TV version of adoption: the idea that we cannot be our real selves until we connect with our biological families. If that connection completes you, great. But don’t count on it. That said, there is no shame in wanting to know your origin story and wanting to access your birth family’s (and therefore your own) medical history. Do so with care though, because you are digging into the emotional past too.

Adoptions today are more likely to be open, at least to the extent that information and names are shared, if not to the extent that a relationship is maintained. That openness can help answer many questions that an adoptee might wonder about, heading off the [] need to attend to answering the unknowns.

Being different in any way can set us up for loneliness and self doubt. We’re all a little different, right? We can choose whether that difference gives us a launch pad or a stumbling block.

Some of us who were adopted in “closed states” (or states that don’t allow for the free exchange of even the most vital information such as a health history) have a lingering fear that we might drop dead at any moment. I just love filling out the medical history questionnaire at a new doctor’s office; the one that asks what diseases your parents suffered from. How about the question: What age was your father when he died? How should I know? The great state of so and so…won’t tell me. Not knowing one’s medical history is especially annoying to those of us adoptees who have biological children. What am I passing on? Will I be around for the weddings?

. . .

Bio mom and I continued our telephone relationship for the next several years, but sadly enough, it just plain wore out. I got tired of playing in a fixed pursuer-distancer dance and so I did what a lot of adopted kids might do in a situation like this—I disappeared. I took my medical history and a few more tidbits and I faded with a new appreciation for my adopted parents. They weren’t perfect, but neither was I. As for bio mom, I hope she lives forever. She wasn’t a bad sort, and my kids could sure use the good genes.

[8] Seehttps://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/08/the-sense-of-belonging-to-someone/497834/ (“The Sense of Belonging to Someone”) (“Whenever I thought about having birth parents, it was like putting my mind in a deep, dark, vast space—nothing existed. My constant thought was, ‘I wonder if someone out there looks like me, and is similar to me’”—”Mom knew she couldn’t handle me finding my birth parents while she was alive. She wanted me to, but after she was gone. She did it in such a sweet way. I love her for this”)

[9] See id.

[10] See, e.g., Lisa Lutz, “I Found My Biological Parents, and Wish I Hadn’t,” https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/magazine/i-found-my-biological-parents-and-wish-i-hadnt.html (“If I’d been given the choice of meeting my biological parents or getting a nice dossier on them, I would have chosen the latter”—”When I finally had time to take it all in, I felt like the result of a mishandled science experiment. I wondered what might have happened to me if I had been raised by my genetic parents. It seems unlikely that I would have ended up with the degree of ambition that I did, one that surpasses my modest genetic gifts. I was never that smart or talented, but I was scrappy and dogged, and I believed I was owed something. That seems ridiculous now. Family is the luck of the draw, and so is how you turn out”)

Richard Schultz, recently widowed, anticipated a quiet, uneventful winter at his home in Montecito, California. Instead, he found himself confronted by two terrifying natural disasters—first, The Thomas Fire, the worst in California’s history that burned 273,000 acres and more than 200 homes in Montecito; then, the subsequent mudslides in Montecito, which left 21 people dead and at least two missing.

My house in Montecito is north of East Mountain Drive, adjacent to the burning Los Padres National Forest. The Sun is obliterated by thick smoke; and the few people who are still on the village streets, wear masks. I don’t want to leave my home. I don’t want any more upheaval in my life.

December 10

Voluntary Evacuation has suddenly turned into Mandatory Evacuation. Five burly firemen from Montecito appear at my house; six more from another fire department join them an hour later. Both groups are happy to see my portable gas-powered pool pump equipment; and they lay it all poolside, with 250 feet of my fire hose in tidy rows.

I put a “carry-on“ bag on my bed and start throwing medicine, checkbooks and some clothing into it. (I’m not thinking clearly) I wonder where I should go.

“Go! Get out now!” The firemen tell me.

Nothing is said about where to go, what to take, how long I’ll need to be away—just “leave.”

The phone rings. I debate whether to answer, but I do and find it is an informed friend inviting me to stay with her family for a few days until it is safe to return to my house. The timing of her call is miraculous. I hastily accept and drive to her home in Santa Barbara. I stay for one day, two days, ten days . . . thirteen days before I can return home.

December 23

I am afraid to see what is left. The low plastic lights along the driveway are burned, melted. Black soot is everywhere. My house is still there! It’s dripping wet and smells of smoke: the windows are dirty with soot. My wide Rosemary hedge and irrigation system along my driveway are burned, lost. My pool is nearly empty except for a few inches of thick black water in the bottom.

Four men are dismantling nozzle holding metal tripods that were set around the house, and replacing padded porch furniture previously moved away from the house. One man is taking pictures of my wet house. I ask, and they tell me they are not firemen; they work for my homeowners insurance company. The company’s own fire trucks had been on my property, and they had helped the firemen to save my home.

No one can tell me what has happened to my portable pool pump. I’m not sure that I care at this point.

I go inside to see that upholstered furniture has been moved to the center of the living room. I see black soot shoe smudges starting at the front door. I follow them upstairs.

Two bank envelopes full of cash and my .38 caliber pistol are missing. I wonder why I did not take those with me.

My home is otherwise intact. I am so grateful I cannot bring myself to complain to the men on the scene. I thank them all profusely for their efforts to save my home.

January 9

I’m not leaving.

It’s another Mandatory Evacuation, but I’ve told the sheriff I’m going to stick it out at my home. I know the risk; I know the burned Los Padres hillside behind me has nothing left living to hold the earth and debris in place. The deluge predicted tonight is expected to cause mudslides.

All of my neighbors within sight have evacuated. But weary from the fire evacuation, I decide to remove my cars from the garage, and have my gardener help me acquire enough sandbags to protect all of my doors and swimming pool, which I had cleaned and re-filled. I make a quick trip to the supermarket for a huge load of groceries, and as much drinking water as I can buy.

The raging, powerful rain flood and mudslide came that night as predicted. The deluge is reported to be brief and noisy, but as a 90-year-old with severe hearing loss, I simply sleep through the entire event. I wake up to utter silence, and the lack of human motion in Montecito.

This was the beginning of 19 days of sensory deprivation.

That morning I hear no traffic of any kind in Montecito, no sound—it is like a ghost town. Then came my reality: no electricity, no running water, no natural gas, no dial tone, no Internet, no TV, no newspaper, and no mail. My sole means of communication was my “flip phone”—that is, while my battery lasts. It is like camping out in luxury shelter with a view.

Two sheriff deputies on patrol find me in my home after several days as a single “holdout.” They ask me about drinking water; I show them what I have. They return with a 12-pack of bottled water and a bag of food. They advise me to evacuate.

My knowledge of what was happening in Montecito and the outside world comes solely from my 4 adult children and close friends, all living in other cities and states, who have my cell phone number. How long will this last without electricity?

After about a week, the electric flickers on periodically. I keep my cell phone plugged in and use my electric oven to take the chill off. I scoop water from my swimming pool for washing and to keep my toilet flushing.

The county sheriff, knowing that I am a hold out, checks in on me every 3 or 4 days, often leaving me with more bottled water and always urging me to evacuate.

Then Montecito begins the slow process of recovering from this double disaster. Only from my cell phone informants do I learn that the streets and areas most damaged from the mud and debris are to be given priority in the cleanup. Early on, 2 missing persons are found dead in mud and debris. My property, adjacent to the National Forest, is high on the foothills making it among the last to be restored.

Along with tree trunks, enormous piles of brush and boulders the size of small cars, large sections of existing water mains and natural gas pipes have not only been exposed, but some are grossly displaced by the mudslide even to distant locations. All of this results in numerous streets being made impassible. Restoration of utilities will be a slow; a methodical process extending 20-plus days into February.

I am getting cold, running out of fresh food and optimism. With no human contact, entertainment or direct news, I am beginning to revert to an alternate reality. I have finished reading 5 new books that were Christmas presents, and am now into my library and “The Life and Works of Vladimir Lenin.” I find myself starting to reminisce, initially over my wife’s recent death, followed by unresolved childhood, adolescent and adult events. I am stuck within my own mind. Could this be “Mindfulness?” These troubling thoughts are not something I can share with folks on the other end of my cell phone.

January 19

My dial tone finally returns. I still have no running water, natural gas, Internet, or television. I have rationed my bottled water wisely, but no fresh food and still no human contact. For me, Montecito is still silent except for the thumping sounds of overhead helicopters. My existence is starting to becoming disorienting!

My children and friends report to me by phone about a burst of progress in the restoration of utilities, but with warnings of contamination and safety issues. Water explosions come in spurts from my open faucets.

January 27

Mandatory Evacuation is lifted. Though still without natural gas or Internet service, I have survived these two terrible sequential Montecito tragedies.

The crime of treason against the United States is punishable by imprisonment or death. Article III, Section 3 of our Constitution defines treason and its punishment:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.[2]

The United States Code states at 18 U.S.C. § 2381:

Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.[3][4]

As FBI Director, Robert Mueller was a co-conspirator and complicit in the “Uranium One”-Russian-Clinton scandal, involving the payment by Russia’s killer Vladimir Putin[5] (directly or indirectly) of approximately $145 million to former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and their foundation—in exchange for the transfer of 20 percent of America’s critical Uranium assets to Russia.[6] This is undisputed.

Putin kills people. He does not authorize the payment of a penny, much less $145 million, without expecting results—which he and Russia received in spades. As FBI Director, what did Mueller know and when did he know it? And what, if anything, did he do to prevent both the Clinton payments and the Uranium transfers?

Also, there are reasons to believe that Mueller has conspired and continues to conspire with Rod Rosenstein and others to reverse the results of the last American presidential election. This alone constitutes treason, which is punishable by imprisonment or death. And a multitude of other crimes have been perpetrated by them.[7]

These are not idle or frivolous statements, but contentions that go to the very essence of our great nation’s constitutional republic. Indeed, it is posited that no greater internal threat to our nation’s existence has occurred since its founding. Even our Civil War was a war of secession by the South, not a war to alter our form of democratic government.

Mueller and his co-conspirators have given aid and comfort to our enemies by trying to bring down the duly-elected presidency of Donald Trump. Their efforts and funding should be cease immediately; all of their ongoing activities should be turned over to rank-and-file employees of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)[8]; and they should be prosecuted.

The DOJ and FBI corrupted an American election, and the wrongdoers must be brought to justice. To make certain that it never happens again, an example must be made of Mueller, not dissimilar to that of Benito Mussolini in Italy during World War II. He must be prosecuted for treason and other crimes, convicted, and executed—to send the message of “Never Again” far and wide.

[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (seewww.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[4] Possibly the last person charged with and executed for treason was Adam Yahiye Gadahn “for videos in which he appeared as a spokesman for al-Qaeda and threatened attacks on American soil. He was killed on January 19, 2015 in an unmanned aircraft (drone) strike in Waziristan, Pakistan.”

A massive national security crisis has been exposed involving the payment of approximately $145 million to Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and their foundation, in exchange for the sale of 20 percent of America’s critical Uranium assets to Russia’s despotic killer, Vladimir Putin.[2]

Americans ask: How could something so stupid and treasonous have happened? It defies imagination. After all, Putin is our enemy, and the enemy of free people everywhere. He began as a KGB agent in East Germany, or the DDR—as it was known before the collapse of Erich Honecker’s government, which was one of the most repressive regimes in the Soviet Union’s orbit, or the Evil Empire.

Following the USSR’s implosion, Putin and his thugs and cronies hijacked Russia’s incipient democracy; and they have been exploiting it ever since. He has killed and killed again, and he is ruthless. He must be viewed in this context, not as some Westernized Russian democrat, which he is not.[3]

Those Americans involved in this pay-to-play “Uranium One” scandal of epic proportions—possibly dwarfing Watergate—include Barack Obama, the Clintons, former Attorney General Eric Holder, Robert Mueller, James Comey and Rod Rosenstein of the FBI and the Department of “Injustice.”[4] Each of them has been shielded by America’s corrupt Leftist media, which is complicit.

Anyone who has followed the careers of Barack Obama and the Clintons realizes fully that they are some of the most corrupt politicians who have ever risen to the top of our great nation. They are a disgrace, and un-American.[5]

Obama is black racist through and through. If anyone doubts this conclusion, please read his book, “Dreams from My Father.” It is all there, in his own words and beliefs, which undergirded eight years of his failed presidency that tore apart race relations in America.[6]

The Clintons are corrupt beyond belief. Among other things, Bill Clinton has raped and defiled women, who in turn have been attacked by Hillary Clinton. He is America’s sexual predator personified, just as the disgraced Harvey Weinstein symbolizes Hollywood’s multi-decade depravity.[7]

The full extent of the “Uranium One” scandal is just unfolding. It is likely to get far worse, and explosive.

[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (seewww.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., http://www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

My mother had a love of photography, and took endless photos with her Kodak Brownie camera. Years later, I picked up her love of the art form and began my life-long pursuit of photography. As a lawyer based in Washington, D.C., I called information for Carmel, California on a whim one day, seeking a listing for Ansel Adams, and wondering whether the master taught students or offered classes that I might attend. Lo and behold, his wife Virginia answered the phone, and was very nice, and directed me to one of his workshops.

The first one that I attended was in Yosemite, based at the Ansel Adams Gallery. I was one of about 30 students who had come from everywhere, to study with the master. Having grown up in Los Angeles (or Hollywood) and having worked in the U.S. Senate, I was not surprised that the great photographer was surrounded by sycophants, who basked in his shadow and glory, like those who follow movie stars, politicians and other celebrities worldwide. However, one assistant in particular stood out and his name was William Neill.[2] He was humble and almost shy, but his photography was brilliant, and I bought a small photo from him that was a jewel, which he had taken at Canyon de Chelly in Arizona.

Ansel gave freely and generously of his time, and could not have been nicer to all of the students. In the back country one day, we were all taking photos, and I had my camera set up on a tripod and was seeking just the right shot, when the master came over and looked through my lens and said it was all wrong. He picked up my tripod and moved it, and selected a shot that was far better than mine. His brilliant eyes and brain knew intuitively what was best. He took us into his darkroom at the Gallery, which had been the Best’s Studio and owned by his wife’s family before they married. The whole weeklong workshop was everything that I could have hoped for, and I returned to Washington more excited about photography and Ansel than ever before.

I attended another workshop in Carmel; however, he was not in good health then. He hosted a reception at his home in the Carmel Highlands; and as always, he could not have been nicer and more gracious. After he died, I had lunch with Robert Baker who co-authored Ansel’s technical books, and learned that the two of them had been working on a book about color photography at the end of his life. Ansel had mastered black-and-white photography, but apparently he felt that he could not control the colors in the other medium. Thus, his book might have represented a milestone for photographers globally if it had been finished.

Fast forward to today, and I have a 13-year-old grandson who is an excellent photographer. His parents have encouraged him; and I decided that he too needed to learn at the feet of a master, Bill Neill. Thus, I contacted him, and we arranged for a private session at Yosemite. Anyone who has viewed Bill’s photos at his Web site, or seen them in galleries or published in books or magazines, realizes that they are exquisite and he is truly brilliant. My daughter, grandson and I traveled to Yosemite in early November 2016 for time with Bill, which could not have been more rewarding. Although we had not seen each other in years, he was just as nice and humble and generous with his time as I had remembered him. My daughter and I stood some distance from the two of them in fields and next to streams[3], while Bill imparted his photographic wisdom to the young lad.

Almost instantly, he was producing wonderful photos, which might compete with the best produced by many professional photographers worldwide. Bill has traveled the globe taking award-winning photos—in India, Antarctica, the Himalayas—however, like Ansel before him, he is probably best known for his photos that capture the very essence and beauty of Yosemite and nature. We had stopped at a meadow in the Yosemite Valley and cars pulled up shortly afterward, and out jumped a group of budding photographers who were attending a photographic workshop, and wanted to say hello to Bill and have a group photo taken with him. Of course he obliged, but still being shy and humble, he was a bit taken back at the idea of having become a celebrity himself.

While I have always loved Ansel’s photos and those of Mathew Brady taken during the American Civil War, I am more interested in color photography than black-and-white. Indeed, I concluded near the end of our time with Bill—and viewing photos at his Web site—that he had actually surpassed the great Ansel, and was his logical successor and photographic heir. He had mastered color photography. Also, he was using an Apple iPhone as a teaching device, and showing the young boy images as an instructional tool. Put succinctly, we were in the presence of a master, much like I felt many years before when I was with Ansel for the very first time.

There is something rare about such an experience. I have spent time with Academy Award-winning movie stars, lots of CEOs, famous politicians and billionaires, but our time with Bill was very special. I came away from the trip with a sense of awe, realizing how those who were in the presence of Leonardo da Vinci and other masters must have felt centuries ago. Bill was finishing a new book[4], which hopefully would embellish on and burnish his already-wonderful reputation, and gain new fans of his timeless photographic talents.

[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (seewww.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., http://www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

]]>https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/17/in-yosemite-with-ansel-adams-worthy-successor/feed/2naegeleblogDscf2939(2)Sean and Bill-16-11-5Who Is Next? The Murder Of A Young American And The Harvesting Of His Body Parts In Mexicohttps://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/who-is-next-the-murder-of-a-young-american-and-the-harvesting-of-his-body-parts-in-mexico/
https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/who-is-next-the-murder-of-a-young-american-and-the-harvesting-of-his-body-parts-in-mexico/#commentsThu, 15 Jun 2017 05:02:13 +0000http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/?p=5909 By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

The illegal trafficking in human body parts is widespread globally; and Americans and others are being killed for them. No American should feel safe traveling to Mexico, the world’s second deadliest country last year[2]. And no Americans should do business with Mexico until this brutal murder is solved and the killers are brought to justice—and face life in prison, or the gallows.

He was the wonderful son of old friends of mine, and he grew up in Southern California. He was loved deeply by his parents and so many others.[3] He had been surfing near Rosarito Beach and went to a hotel for the night. Two men were shown on the hotel video with an ice chest; and he was killed and his vital organs were removed for harvesting.

What happened to him could happen to any other American, and will. The Mexican authorities have closed the case, and his murderers have not been brought to justice. Mexico should be boycotted by all Americans and U.S. businesses until the killers and their accomplices are found and dealt with severely.

Anyone who understands the harvesting of human organs realizes that it constitutes a sophisticated enterprise in which time is of the essence. Not a minute can be wasted. Once he was murdered and his organs were removed, and presumably placed in the ice chest, they had to be transported quickly or they were of no value to anyone.

Also, they had to be surgically removed by one or more persons who were skilled in doing so. Any mistakes would render the human parts worthless on the international organ market for the purpose of transplantation. It has been noted:

Criminal networks increasingly engage in kidnappings, especially of children and teenagers, who are then taken to locations with medical equipment. There they are murdered and their organs harvested for the illegal organ trade.[4][5]

This heinous crime demands the attention of the Trump Administration and Mexico’s leadership, and action. Like the lovely Kate Steinle’s brutal murder in San Francisco[6], this young American must be remembered and his death must be avenged. Until then, Mexico must be shut down and closed from an American perspective.

[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (seewww.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., http://www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

In 2014, an alleged member of the Mexican Knights Templar Cartel was arrested for kidnapping and murdering minors. Children were found wrapped in blankets and stuffed in a refrigerated container inside a van. Various accounts have stated the arrested man is part of a network that kidnaps and kills minors, after which their organs are removed. The Cartel’s other sources of income include drug trafficking, extortion, illegal mining, and, illegal logging.

His name was Andrew Jerrold Perenchio, or simply “Jerry.” He was a billionaire and a true Hollywood mogul, who shunned publicity and personal attention, and valued his privacy. This occurred despite the fact that he built enormous economic wealth and power in the American and global entertainment industries, where fame and public attention are coveted and celebrities are lionized and fawned over.[2]

He was my next-door neighbor growing up on Glenroy Avenue, south of the fabled Sunset Boulevard, a mile west of the UCLA campus in Westwood, a suburb of Los Angeles. He lived there with his lovely first wife Robin, their baby son John—who was born when I was in my first year of high school—and his wife’s two daughters from a previous marriage. My mother loved Robin, who was very kind to her.

I went away to college at UCSB and later graduated from UCLA. I was president of the Sophomore Class at Santa Barbara, and an SAE; and Jerry had been president of the same class at UCLA, and also a member of the nation’s largest national fraternity. He put on theatrical concerts in college, and I was a concert promoter too.[3] Jerry introduced me to Lou Robin, who was a concert promoter extraordinaire, and later the manager of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash for 30 years[4]; and I bought talent from him.

Both Jerry and my father urged me to go to law school, which I did at Berkeley, before spending two years as an Army officer assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon.[5] After leaving the military, I became counsel to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill, and later chief of staff to the late Senator Edward W. Brooke, the first African-American senator since Reconstruction after our Civil War, with Barack Obama being the third.[6]

We planned a fundraising concert in Boston for the Senator’s reelection, and I called Jerry about getting talent. He arranged for the wonderful Johnny Mathis[7], among others; and he personally paid for an old stage manager friend of his, Phil Stein, to oversee everything.[8] The evening went perfectly and was an enormous success, thanks to Jerry’s generosity, caring and guidance.

When I contemplated leaving the Senate, he and I talked about me working for him. He was launching a membership TV enterprise nationally; and my first job was to head a marketing crew of more than 20 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as I recall. I flew out to LA from Washington to spend a weekend with him, talking about our future. Unbeknownst to me, we would spend the entire weekend with the great Burt Lancaster, watching football games at Jerry’s house in Bel Air, playing golf at the Bel Air Country Club, and having dinner at Burt’s rented house on the beach in Malibu with Jerry’s second wife and Burt’s partner at the time.[9]

The weekend was a success, and Jerry offered me the job; however, he was very frank and told me upfront that he would fire me if I did not measure up to his expectations. My marriage was “shaky,” and I had two wonderful little kids; and I would have to be traveling two-thirds of every month, and I could not take the risk of losing my job after I had moved my young family from Washington to L.A. Rather than leave him hanging, I thought about friends of mine who might fit the bill, and were single and not otherwise encumbered.

There had been a “clique” of very talented young officers at the Pentagon’s Officers Athletic Club; and one of them was an Air Force officer named Al Horn. From the military, he had gone to Harvard Business School, and was working for Procter & Gamble. He was tough; and I recommended him to Jerry, and the rest is history. Al became Jerry’s right arm when he and Norman Lear combined their efforts; and later Al ran the Warner Bros. studio, and today he is chairman of the Walt Disney Studios.[10] I entered the private practice of law, as a partner of the Washington law firm, and then struck out on my own.

When I was finishing up at UCLA, I lived in Malibu, where Topanga Canyon empties into the Pacific Ocean. I rented a funky one-room apartment on the sand, and met some wonderful surfers and watermen, who remained my friends for life. As the years passed, and I brought my kids west to California for vacations, I decided to rent small apartments from such friends, to give my kids a sense of really living in California as I had known it. After one of the storms hit the California coast, a small damaged house on a priceless lot next to where we lived part-time became available and I bought it for $475,000.

I planned to tear it down, and build something new; and while the planning was underway, a violent El Niño storm hit Malibu.[11] I got a call in Washington from my local architect in Malibu, saying that a house up the street had been washed out to sea. About two hours later, he called back to say that mine had been swept to sea as well. When I arrived in California, the lot was bare, even though heavy wood pilings had been driven deep into the sand to support the little house that had been there.

Because of the damage to structures in Malibu, the permitting process to build anything new on the ocean was horrendous. I hired an internationally-recognized architect, William Turnbull[12], to design a multi-unit structure for the property; and I personally made a pitch to the California Coastal Commission, right after movie mogul David Geffen’s attorney had pulled his application for changes to the seawall at his ocean-front Malibu home. I was given the go-ahead by one vote; and the project required more than 40 separate permits to be built.

In the final analysis, my “dream home” became an unmitigated nightmare. I was trying to build it from Washington, D.C., all the while trusting people in California who were “picking my pockets.” A small bank in Massachusetts had financed the project; and when both the bank and I refused to put any more money into it, the bank alone had “invested” about $3.5 million. The delays and cost overruns were monumental. The bank gave me a year to buy it out for $1.6 million, or walk away from the project.

I talked with Jerry about it, because he had completed colossal work on his new mansion in Bel Air, as well as work on his golf course and houses in Malibu, down the street from my property. He offered to help, and said that his trusted builder might be able to finish the project but I would have to sell it once the work was done. I was so sick and tired of it that I could scream. In the final analysis, I thanked him and always appreciated Jerry’s interest in helping.

Fast forward, and my wonderful son was getting his MBA and JD at Pepperdine University in Malibu, up the hill from where we had lived; and he told me that he was thinking about practicing law. I told him “never”[13], and put him in touch with Jerry—for whom he began working at Univision while still a student, before he worked there full time. Ultimately, when Jerry sold Univision, my son had become a Senior Vice President; and he loved working for Jerry. Needless to say, Jerry could not have been nicer and more supportive.

My parents met in grade school in Minneapolis; and my mother came to California first, with her parents when she was a young girl. My father followed later; and they lived in Hollywood after they were married, before building their home in Westwood, and they knew famous movie stars, etc. They always told me not to get involved with those in the business, whom they described as “phonies.” Years later, Jerry told me something similar: that they were not “nice.” Hollywood is a rough-and-tumble town, much like our nation’s capital; and the narcissistic “phonies” of both towns seem to adore each other.

In the final analysis, yes, Jerry Perenchio was a tough Hollywood mogul, and a legend. But he was very kind and caring too, qualities that not everyone saw in him. It was as if they were sometimes “hidden under a bushel.” As I have written about Ed Brooke:

I am sad that [he] is gone. He is missed. He was not perfect; no one is. Yet, he made a difference. . . . And I will always remember [him].[14]

The same thing is true of Jerry, in spades. He was very special—whether he had any money or not. I will always be deeply indebted to him for the kindness and caring that he showed to my son and me throughout his life.

[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (seewww.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2] This article contains personal remembrances of Jerry; and I will not attempt to recount his considerable accomplishments, which are well documented by others.

[7] Like concerts that I had produced in college (see infra n.3), I remained backstage during the entire program. Mathis was the last act to appear, since he was the star. While I was watching the earlier acts, I almost tripped over him in the wings. He was sitting down watching the other acts, very modestly; and he had not changed into his wardrobe. I was always struck by his humility, and still am; and I remain a fan of his.

[9] As I was racing from the office in Washington to catch the flight to L.A., I accidentally left my favorite suit on top of the car in the parking lot at Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. I got to the United Airlines gate and remembered it; and I was told that the flight was leaving, and there was no time to retrieve the suit. Since Jerry was meeting me at LAX, I left the suit; and no one turned it in while I was gone.

Jerry had a meeting with his “mentor” at the Los Angeles Country Club, to which my father had belonged; and he loaned me his classic Mercedes convertible, and I went into Westwood and bought some pants that I wore the entire trip.

During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln suspended the right of habeas corpus. John Merryman, a state legislator from Maryland, was arrested for attempting to hinder Union troops from moving from Baltimore to Washington, and he was held at Fort McHenry by Union military officials:

Federal judge Roger Taney, the chief justice of the Supreme Court . . . issued a ruling that President Lincoln did not have the authority to suspend habeas corpus. Lincoln didn’t respond, appeal, or order the release of Merryman. But during a July 4 speech, Lincoln was defiant, insisting that he needed to suspend the rules in order to put down the rebellion in the South.[2]

We may be approaching a series of crises in which President Donald Trump will have to act boldly and defiantly, and adopt harsh measures similar to those of Lincoln.

President Trump was elected by the American people. There are a myriad of persuasive arguments why his opponent, Hillary Clinton, should be indicted, convicted and imprisoned for the rest of her life.[3] Yet, the drumbeat among Democrats, so-called “progressives” and the far-Left is to destroy the Trump presidency before it has begun.[4]

Many Americans felt just as strongly about the black racist Barack Obama[5], but they did not try to destroy his presidency or advocate his assassination as many in the anti-Trump camp have. Their seditious, subversive and treasonous conduct strongly suggests that they pose a danger to our system of government. They should be arrested, tried, convicted and imprisoned.

Trump is hated by [Washington, D.C.], which gave him 4 percent of its votes, as much as Nixon was. And the deep-state determination to bring him down is as great as it was with Nixon. By 1968, the liberal establishment had lost the mandate it had held since 1933, but not lost its ability to wound and kill [Republican] presidents. Though Nixon won 49 states, that establishment took him down. Though Ronald Reagan won 49 states, that establishment almost took him down in the Iran-Contra affair. And that is the end they have in mind for President Trump.[6]

The United States and the American people are facing threats to our existence, which are unprecedented in our history, far surpassing 9/11 and Pearl Harbor.[7] We cannot permit the seditious, subversive and treasonous conduct of some to pose a danger to our system of government and way of life.

[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (seewww.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[5] If anyone has any doubts whatsoever that Obama is a racist, please read his book “Dreams from My Father” that sets forth his core black racist beliefs in his own words, which have undergirded his presidency.

The United States of America is a shining city on a hill. It embodies the hopes and dreams of mankind. It is not perfect, and no American is perfect. But we try to do our best to honor ourselves, each other, and our fellow citizens of the world.

Our elections are over. We have a new President and First Lady, Donald and Melania Trump. We wish them well, because our fates and theirs are linked inextricably. Our destinies are shared. The future of our great and noble republic is entrusted to them.

[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). He and his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates, specialize in Banking and Financial Institutions Law, Internet Law, Litigation and other matters (seehttp://www.naegele.com and http://www.naegele.com/documents/TimothyD.NaegeleResume.pdf). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from UCLA, as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal. Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., http://www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles), and can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com; see also Google search: Timothy D. Naegele